The Final Reminder
by AngelWithASeraphBlade
Summary: When Alec and Magnus break up they leave with nothing to prove that the other had existed. Or maybe not. With thousands if miles separating them, they each have one thing that will remind them of how near and yet how far their lover was away from them. All human, rated T but may change if I'm not sure. Disclaimer: I own only the plot.
1. Prologue

**_Right, so I just randomly go this idea and I thought I would try it out! It's a bit odd, and I'm not yet sure how exactly it is going to work,_** _**but**_**_ give it a go and tell me what you think?! Is is good or should I scrap it? Thanks for checking this out!_**

_**Lu** _

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Magnus drew back and turned away from Alec, running his hands through his hair and crushing the glittery peaks. Right now his normally terribly important appearance meant nothing, and the blue eyed boy he had just turned away from meant everything. He knew that he would never see those eyes again - or thought it at least. He didn't yet know the secrets behind a certain someone's eyelids. He felt awful for doing this, but the whole relationship was wrong, had turned beautifully bitter, he was sure that Alec would be much happier with someone else. Well, he was trying to make himself believe that anyway, in a vague attempt to make this whole thing easier. Magnus had been a shit boyfriend, and both of them had made so many mistakes it was unrealistic for the relationship to continue. It would just end worse than this - if you could get worse than this Magnus would certainly have like to hear it. Magnus kept his back stubbornly towards his soon to be ex boyfriend and bit his shimmering lip.

"I'm sorry Alec, but it's over. We can't carry on like this, you and I both know that. I am going to go out, and when I get back I want you gone. Take one of them, I don't mind which. I know they both need each other and two parents, but it is the only way I can see this working."

Magnus stormed out of the apartment he had shared with Alexander Lightwood. He couldn't bear to see the tears fall down Alec's face that mirrored those streaking his own cheeks. Couldn't bear to turn and see Alec shuffle over to the bedroom, gathering up his few possessions into a battered leather suitcase - Magnus had always had way more things than his withdrawn boyfriend - and smash his phone on the floor, cutting nearly all of the fragile ties he had. He had cut all but two. Magnus had left so he didn't have to be there when Alec cried hopelessly over the two boys lying in a crib.

Two days old. Only two days old. They had been born of a surrogate mother after the pair decided they wanted children on Alec's eighteenth some eleven months earlier. What a stupid, stupid idea. Alec and Magnus's broken hearts would heal over time, but the tiny children that lay helplessly before Alec would never know their other father or brother, possibly never knowing that they existed. It filled Magnus's heart with an awful pain that he was afraid could never be fixed. The boys hadn't even opened their eyes yet. One child would never see Magnus's face. One child would never see Alec's.

Alec kissed the child that held his pale skin and the inky hair both parents shared on his forehead, before scooping up the boy that looked so much like Magnus, with golden skin and sleepy almond shaped eyes. Magnus would never know that the eyes were the unusual green-golden shade that he possessed himself. Alec would never know that his beautiful blue eyes had been inherited after all. Maybe that made it slightly easier. That both of them would remain oblivious to the true legacy that they had left behind. It was the eyes of each boy that had drawn them together like a magnet. And it was those eyes that had made them fall hopelessly in love with each other. Well, that love had turned out to be a poison, slowly eating away at them until only a broken mess remained. The mess that they now were clearing up by making it disappear almost entirely, only leaving tiny shards of glass designed to dig into their hearts.

Magnus was not there so see Alec leave the apartment, cutting yet another tie so that only one remained, suitcase in his hand and sleeping child in the crook of his arm. Magnus would never know where the plane that took Alec far away from New York that evening, leaving behind his family, friends and everything he held most dear behind, had landed. No one would. Alec had felt the only way he could attempt to cope was if he was leaving everything and not just his ex.

Magnus only had one final reminder of their relationship to prove he had even met Alec, all the pictures having been ripped up and his possessions taken. The little child clinging desperately to his shirt, eyes finally peeling open revealing a blue Magnus had thought he would never see again. That was the thing that broke him. Clutching his son desperately to his chest, he sunk to his knees and dissolved into heartbroken tears that dripped down his face, washing away any happiness that had remained when Alec had left his life. If only this hadn't ended this way. If only they had tried to fix it. But maybe it was so broken that the love required to fix it would have destroyed them both. Well, Magnus was destroyed anyway. Maybe the whole thing had been doomed from the beginning. Magnus finally fell into a dream littered sleep like that, leaning against a wall with his nameless son curled up in his arms.

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**_What do you think? I know it is short, but this is only the prologue and I promise future chapters will be longer. Please review and tell me your opinion on what I have written so far. Also, names! Any suggestions for either or both? Review and let me know!_**

**_Thank you for reading!_**

**_Lu xxx_**


	2. Faces From The Past

_**Hi. I hope you like this chapter. Thank you to the three of you who reviewed, it always nice to hear from you lot so I know if it's okay.**_

_**Enjoy**_

_**Lu xxx**_

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_A harsh wind ripped across the street, blowing icy air around Alec. Piles of snow had been shoved hastily off of the road, leaving small mountains littering the sidewalk. The air was entirely white, the sky like a blank canvas above him and the buildings around him as if they had been wrapped in paper. Only a single colour remained in the landscape, the red brick warehouse that loomed in front of him. He would recognise it anywhere. In that building was the apartment he used to share with Magnus Bane._

_His mind was screaming at him to stop, to halt his feet and go no further, but his legs refused to obey and within seconds he had dashed in through the glass door and was making his way up the staircase. It glittered in the sharp contrasting darkness to the white outside, and was yet another reminder of Magnus that stabbed him in the heart. He reached the loft apartment, and was reached out to the door handle..._

Alec's eyes snapped open and took in the only reminder of Magnus that didn't pain him. The boy stared down at his father, giggling and prodding his nose until Alec sat up and pulled him into a hug, ruffling his inky hair affectionately.

"Morning Daddy!" Alec kissed the top of his son's head and drew back, his gaze on the boy that of pure love. He stared into the golden green eyes and smiled.

"Hey Max!" Alec hadn't been able to help naming his boy after his younger brother, who had died at the age of nine after an awful car accident. His son had all of the qualities of his younger brother - he was kind and very loyal, always bubbly and keen about everything. Max was probably the reason Alec had been able to survive the awful break up eight years ago. Well, nearly eight years ago. Eight years ago in two days. Today was Max's eight birthday.

"Happy birthday!" The little boy jumped off of the bed and tried to drag his dad out from under the sheets, excitement now plastered all over his face.

"Presents! Come on Daddy, hurry up!" Alec laughed to himself and scooted out from under the thin comforter. He was only wearing pyjama pants, but he wasn't cold - it was summer in California and it was baking. Despite this, Alec's skin remained as pale as white porcelain - it sucked. His son, however, had beautiful tanned golden skin peeking from underneath his Spiderman pyjamas. Some things in life were so unfair.

"Okay sweetie, but you know what we have to do first." He put his arm around the child's shoulders, leading him to the chest of drawers in his room. On it stood a picture, the only picture Alec had taken on that awful day. It showed Magnus, face hidden in the shadows, only his smile visible, in his arms a tiny baby with Alec's fair skin, eyes squeezed shut. Alec had made sure that Max had known everything about Magnus and the kid's brother right from day 1 - Alec's sexuality, the surrogate mother, the break up. He had kept the names out of it though, because he had no idea what his other boy was called, and Magnus... Well his name was too painful to even think, even after all these years. Every year, Max would wish his brother a happy birthday too. It was Max's way of connecting with his twin back in New York.

Alec reached up and pulled down the frame so that Max could see it properly, placing it in his hands. The kid dragged a finger across his brother's face and his other father's smile, a grin of his own playing about his small lips. The other half of his family always fascinated the boy.

"Happy Birthday, big brother. Hello, Daddy." Max looked a bit sad, probably because he had never met his brother, so Alec took that as a hint to pluck the picture back out of his hands and replace it on the furniture.

"Shall we go open your presents and then go out for breakfast? Your pick." Max nodded enthusiastically, any hint of sadness gone immediately. He grabbed his dad's hand and pulled him into the kitchen, where Alec had lain out the heap of gifts on the table the night before, a tradition Alec had maintained from when he himself had been little. Max looked back up at Alec for confirmation. Alec nodded and smiled, pushing the boy forward ever so slightly into the mountain of toys and other gifts.

* * *

A short while later, a heap of wrapping paper and toys lay scattered around Max. He looked thoroughly impressed, especially with some of the Lego sets, but Alec wasn't done yet. He reached down into the pocket in his pyjamas and drew out a small envelope. He handed it to Max who looked a bit confused at it.

"It's a special present from me." Max seemed reassured by this, and quickly ripped it open. Out fell two plane tickets. Max gasped.

He had been desperate to go to New York, his dad's birth city, for a while now. Alec had been hesitant - the place held so many bad memories - but he had eventually given in and organised the trip.

"We leave tomorrow." Max screamed in delight and grabbed Alec in a teddy bear hug. Alec lifted him up and spun him around as the boy giggled happily. He set him down and looked into those pretty eyes.

"Now why don't you get dressed, and we'll go have pancake somewhere."

"Dorothea's!" Alec laughed.

"Dorothea's it is!"

* * *

Alec smiled and sipped at his coffee - black with sugar, the way he liked it - as he watched Max dig into the mound of coconut pancakes that the waitress had just brought over. They were Max's favourite, and Dorothea's was the only place near to the luxury apartment that did them. Just looking at them sprung up memories of Taki's and dates there with Magnus, but Alec suppressed them. Now was not the time. Now was the time for Max, and Max alone.

Max finished up his pancakes, wiping his mouth with his sleeve in a childlike gesture. He looked up at Alec happily, and almost expectantly.

"Thanks Dad!" Alec grabbed his son's hands and rubbed the backs of them idly.

"No problem. Anything for you on your special day. Now tell me, what would you like to do next?" Max looked deep in thought for a few seconds, and then grinned up at Alec.

"Ice cream on the beach!" Alec grabbed his hand and pulled him up - he has already paid.

"Okay, let's go!" Alec was grinning maniacally as th two of them walked out of the small cafe hand in hand. Max made everything right in the world - he was Alec's everything, and Alec was his everything too. In that blissful moment, Alec almost forgot Magnus back in New York, and his other son who remained nameless to him. He almost forgot the dread he was feeling at the thought of having to fly out to New York in a matter of hours, at facing a place that had been too painful for him to remain in. He almost forgot. But not quite.

* * *

Magnus stirred the frothy hot chocolate one final time before covering it in marshmallows and cream. His son had been brought up to appreciate the art of a good hot chocolate, and Magnus had taught him well. He picked up the mug, careful not to spill a drop - well the carpet was new, and sparkly at that - and made his way into his son's bedroom.

He walked in to find the boy fast asleep - he had also been taught excellently by Magnus to sleep in - despite the excitement that the day would inevitably bring. Magnus sighed happily and deposited the drink onto the bedside table before slumping in the cushy armchair next to the bed. He reached out, pushing the boy's hair back from his face, and whispered quietly into his ear.

"Wake up, sweetie. It's your birthday." The child's brilliant blue eyes flickered open sleeping, looking up at Magnus. He smiled down at the boy.

"Happy Birthday Will." The boy slowly sat up, blinking slightly as he struggled to wake up fully. Magnus swiped the hot chocolate off of the side and thrust it into the boy's hands. He took it gratefully and took a long sip, resulting in some of the cream coming off on his nose. Magnus flicked it away lazily, eating it himself.

"Is the beverage suitable young man?" Will giggled.

"Yes Dad, it's great, thank you!" He took up lapping up the cream and any marshmallows that hadn't melted into the drink yet. He looked adorable. Magnus sighed, thinking about his twin brother. He had not a single picture of Alec or the other boy, he hadn't even been able to say goodbye to his other son. He had never told Will either - he was too concerned that the truth would be too painful to be brought to light, whether for himself or the child he wasn't entirely sure. Anyways, Will didn't know the truth, and he didn't need to. Not yet, anyway. The only thing he did know about was Magnus's sexuality, because him knowing that when he was young avoided awkward questions when he was older.

When Will had finished the drink Magnus left to clear it up and so the boy could get dressed. Then the boy would decide whether he wanted presents or breakfast or anything really - when he was five Magnus had let him bathe in spaghetti when he had asked. It was all very laid back and calm, and Magnus had the money to do most things - he was the chief editor of a major fashion magazine - so it was normally a bit crazy later on. It was great fun, a day for just the two of them. Just the two of them. The way it had always been and the way both of them liked it.

Magnus smiled to himself as he washed up the mug almost subconsciously. The past memories of this day, the happiness and excitement the two of them had shared. Magnus didn't find himself thinking of the awful first year, he had learnt to lock that away. He had learnt to live for the happy memories. They were all he wanted to have, and so was Will. Will was more than he could ever have dreamt of. He was so lucky to have him. Speak of the devil, at that moment he appeared from his bedroom in skinny jeans and a black riveted top - he had definitely inherited the fashion taste of Magnus. The man chuckled to himself.

"So whatcha wanna do today then?" Will went around and slumped on one of the bright pink couches. Magnus came and joined him, coffee in hand. He ruffled the boy's hair affectionately. He looked thoughtful.

"Would you mind if we did presents this evening and just sat here with movies and popcorn all day?"

"Absolutely not, anything for my boy. Now, what do you want to watch first?" They sat like that all day, laughing, (almost) crying and wincing on the sofa as the movies took them to multiple different worlds that they loved to live in together.

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**_I know, I know, it's short, but I wanted to give you something at least as I may not be able to update for another few weeks. :( so, what do you think of the names? And the story? Do you think it's a good start?_**

**_Thank you for reading!_**

**_Lu xxx _**


	3. The Life I Have Built

_**Here is the third chapter. I am dedicating this chapter to my dear friend Tibby, as she is awesome and lovely (and listens to me rambling!). This is also my only fanfic that I have deemed 'okay' for her - i.e. the one with the least depressing themes. Anyway, she has a fanfiction account - whatsintheboxx. She isn't quite up and running but I will let you know when she is so you can check her out! She is really good.**_

_**Enjoy!**_

_**Lu xxx**_

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It had been a long time since Alec had been on a plane, and it took him a few minutes to get used to the sensation once he was up in the air. The flight to New York would take just over 5 hours, and he planned to spend most of it sleeping to gain the energy to face the place that flooded his nightmares. He knew that the city was massive, and that the chance of seeing anyone from his past was very, very slim, but he just couldn't shake the feeling that there were going to be encounters, especially since Max was keen to see all of his favorite places.

Alec had just closed his eyes when an excited squealing erupted from his right. He groaned and turned to see Max desperately happy about the view from the window - of course the kid had been given the window seat. He was sure the man sat to his left must be annoyed at being sat with them, but he didn't care. He let his lips fall into a smile, one side flicking up before the other. It made him smile to see his son so happy. He had had such a simple, happy childhood in most ways, one that Alec would have dreamed of back when he was a child only a few years ago. Of course, there had been the complication of not having a family, but in some ways Alec thought that was good. That way there were less people to hurt him the way. He wouldn't have had to go what Alec had had to go through.

No, no, he couldn't think like that. He needed the happy memories to share with Max - happy memories that included Magnus as well as those that didn't. He wanted to share a little bit of his other father with the boy, because he was an important part of Max even if he had never met the man, never known him. He closed his eyes again as Max calmed down a little bit and let his mind take him back to when he had been happiest, when the world had gone from the hardship of family life to the happiness of loving Magnus, and being loved by Magnus. When everything had been in a state of stability and simplicity that would not, could not last.

_Sunlight flew in through the trees in Central Park. This was a place only he and Magnus knew. It was a small cluster of trees, full of beautiful and rare flowers. Beams of light littered the floor, throwing a dreamy patchwork of shadows on the place like a cobweb, just as mystical and just as intricate. He was leaning against Magnus, head resting in the crook of his neck. Magnus was gently stroking his hair in a lazy, caring fashion. They had been sitting there for hours together, just happy in the togetherness of each other. They had only been dating for a couple of weeks but already it was as if they were soul-mates. Without warning, Magnus took Alec's face and turned it towards his. Alec would remember forever the way the light danced in his eyes, the reflection of the sun and something else. He would remember the look on Magnus's face, the apprehension overruled by something deeper. The way he had said he loved Alec for the first time. The taste of his lips, sweet and soft and gentle on his own. Their first kiss. It was a memory that Alec would smile at forever._

_Taki's was nearly full but somehow the pair of them had managed to find an unoccupied table that seemed to be shut off from the world. Magnus held Alec's hands in his, rubbing gently at the scarred knuckles that he had gained from the years of boxing that his parents had forced him into. And the karate. And judo. They had been very clear that they wanted Alec to be a fighter, and Alec had been very clear that he didn't. Magnus was wearing all black today, a somber ensemble, although the jeans were ripped and his t-shirt was covered in rivets. It was a fresh spring day, and the air had a certain brightness to it - well, as bright as it could be in New York with the ever present fumes from thousands of cars. The other boy was smiling at him, laughing at his jokes, letting him in where he let no one else. This was how Alec loved the boy. Open, totally revealed and... and just pure Magnus. Nothing else. No false appearances. No shell. Just Magnus. The Magnus that Alec loved with all his heart._

_The warm sun of early fall beat down on Alec's neck as he walked back to his house. He had had a lovely time with Magnus, laughing and throwing popcorn at each other at the cinema, getting kicked out of the cinema, running away from the security guard. Just the usual madness with Magnus. The madness he had grown to love as he had grown to love Magnus and learnt to live. As he wandered down the sidewalk, a soft orange light glowing through the vibrant yellows and reds of the trees, a massive Gothic building loomed up to the side of him. The Institute. His favorite library in the city. It wasn't very popular with most people, but it was the only place that he had ever been able to call home. He had met Magnus there - he had been researching something for school and had come across Alec reading A Tale Of Two Cities in the corner. He smiled at the memory, and walked with a renewed happiness back to the place that he had to sleep in._

Alec stayed like that for rest of the journey. Somehow, for once, the dreams remained the sweet memories that he treasured rather than the brutal ones that he feared to touch the edges of his subconscious upon. After a while, Max succumbed to the tiredness that follows extreme exhaustion and fell asleep with his head resting of his father. Alec, half awake, moved his arm to encompass the boy, and held his son in the way he had done eight years before when he had flown in the opposite direction. Then they were flying to escape. But now - now, even though they did not know it, they were flying towards a better future.

* * *

It was half three when Magnus awoke. Bleary eyed, he stared at the time, and realising how late it was swore and hastily jumped out of bed a little too quickly, causing his head to spin. He caught himself and managed to regain his balance. He needed to get up. Step one - get dressed. He walked over to his closet and picked out suitable attire - ripped dark blue jeans, and a plain black top (he wasn't planning on doing much) and then moved over to the mirror to quickly swipe on his eyeliner. Yes, he wasn't doing much. But he was Magnus Bane. He simply couldn't be seen without at least something rimming his eyes.

Five minutes late he emerged with hair in explosive spikes into the living room. Will was happily playing Mariokart, bless him, and looked up expectantly when his dad entered the room. He beamed in a charming fashion and pointed to the counter, where the cat was edging ever closer to a massive pile of toast.

"I made you lunch!" Magnus ruffled his hair on the way past and swiped up the plate just as the Chairman pounced for it. There was a loud crash and a lot of hissing. The vague thought that the Chairman may have broken something flashed across Magnus's mind, but it was soon gone. He didn't really care. He was a more go with the flow kind of person.

He settled down on the couch next to his son and nibbled on a corner of the toast. It was very good so he took a massive bite.

"Thanks Will, I needed that." The boy grinned again.

"Can I have a bit?" He giggled. Ten minutes of quiet followed whilst the pair of them devoured the toast. When it was all gone, Magnus set the plate down on the old coffee table, put his feet up next to it and stared at Will, who surprisingly hadn't taken up the controller again. Magnus stared at it and then raised a single eyebrow at the boy. Weird.

"Dad, can we go to the library? I want to check out a couple of books." Ah. Made sense.

"Sure. I tell you what, I have a couple of errands to run so if I drop you off will you be okay for a couple of hours and then I'll come pick you up at say six?" Will nodded enthusiastically. Magnus grabbed his keys off of the table.

"Go get you coat on then!" He himself shrugged on his favorite jacket, a beautiful soft leather in the darkest black imaginable with slight spikes up the sleeves. It had been a gift from Alec long ago, and although it hurt him to think about the boy the garment only reminded him of the happy times, the laughter. Basically, the stuff he wanted to remember.

"Ready!" Magnus smiled and took his boy's hand.

"Off we go then."

* * *

The train ride to the pair's favorite library was short, and the trip was uneventful - they only went past a couple of stops before they reached the right one. It was relatively uncomfortable, as the train was packed to bursting and it was a deliciously hot summer day, making the air stale and barely breathable, and Magnus had to hold Will close to him so as to prevent him from being jostled away by the people. Luckily the journey was barely ten minutes, and soon the carriage was drawing into the station just a short stroll away from the library.

Magnus pulled his son out of the doors and onto the platform before they could shut and led him out into the bright summer sunshine. The station, like quite a few in New York, was grimy and tiled, a dismal place. Alec and Magnus had had their final argument on a station like this, the one they had just journeyed from, the boy Magnus had never known nestled in his arm. They had just been on their way to bring them home. Well, they had got home. And then the boy Magnus had been holding had disappeared, and he didn't even know his name. But he needed to think positive. He still had Will, and the boy had made the stars shine more brightly in the sky again through his grief. He was his salvation and his happiness. He really loved him.

They strolled together along the path, holding a mindless conversation about everyday subjects - Will's favorite comics, which he was keen to chat about, and school, which the boy was not - he preferred to do what he liked when he liked it, and the teachers often disapproved. Magnus was trying to get him to change his ways - despite appearance, Magnus had worked damn hard in school and it had got him his dream career. He wanted his son to be able to live like that, and he was sure he had the potential to do so. He just needed to unlock it.

Both of them took a moment to look up at the trees. They held the slight orange tint to the green that hinted fall was coming, and he couldn't wait for that season. Neither of them could. Magnus had many happy memories, old memories of this lane in the fall, of this city and waltzing around with those that he loved. He still had people that he cared for, but he had never loved anyone since Alec. Sure there had been one night stands and summer flings, but nothing serious. Not until Camille. But that flew out of his head, because they had reached the door.

It was a rather impressive door. It was massive, probably oak or something similar, with massive iron bolts and embellishments. Mind you, the whole place was impressive. There massive turrets with intricate detailing in the stone, a huge statue of an avenging angel boldly stuck on the center of the main hall. There was a glass dome right at the top, the place that was hard to get to but was the favorite place to read in for both of them. It was quiet up there, and beautiful, surrounded by plants and sunlight. Magnus turned to his son.

"See you at six then. Are you sure you'll be okay on your own?" Will nodded and began to hurry up the steps to the enterance. He turned around to face his dad.

"Yep. Hodge knows me!"

"I know. I just wanted to be sure. See ya." Magnus for good measure watched and waited until the thick double doors had closed behind Will before he set off. The double doors to the Institute.

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_**What do you think? Is it good? Please review. Also, check out You don't understand by Ameliaherondale. I have been beta-ing it just recently, it's seriously good. So go read it and review for her, and I will send you virtual cookies for making her happy!**_

_**Thanks for reading!**_

_**Lu xxx**_


	4. Meetings In The Institute

_**Hello dears. Another update! And a story progression as well, because I have decided that it is about time that it moves out of the past and into the future. This chapter is dedicated to my darling friend Emma, who sat with me and screamed at the computer as people suggested Jenna-Louise Coleman as Charlotte Branwell – ABSOLUTELY NOT – and then proceeded to cry with the loss of the will to live when we discovered 20 people actually wanted Harry Styles as Will Herondale. Need I say more? A true friend and a true fan. Also, what do you think on those choices? **_

_**Anyway, back to the story. We are going to have some Max and Will point of view in this as there will be important scenes for both of them. Maybe some Alec and Magnus, not sure yet. Thank you for reading and enjoy!**_

_**To Nic – here is your update!**_

_**To Tibs – this is the next bit, written soon for you darling. **_

_**Lu xxx**_

…

Will bounded inside the Institute, slamming the door carelessly behind him and proceeding to run up the steps into the main hall. It was one of his favourite places in the world, because it had so many books. Will loved books. Comics, novels, old books, new books, he loved them all. They took him to far away places and near places and everywhere in between, and they sort of filled the gap in his chest where he felt he was missing something. It felt like he was missing something very important and very nice, but he wasn't entirely sure what. He just knew that books helped, and that books were interesting and fun to read besides.

He decided not to stay in the main sections of the library today but to go up one of the towers to his favourite spot in the library, where it was very quiet and isolated and pretty. He spotted the large door partially concealed by the many bookcases lining the walls and pushed it forwards slowly. The door was old and heavy; a massive slab of wood like the front door only smaller, and the hinges creaked and groaned with age, rust and disuse as he pressed against it. Nevertheless, it swung open without much effort and soon Will was spiralling up the hundreds of steps – about three hundred he reckoned – to the greenhouse.

Although this part of the library was barely used by anyone anymore, the stone steps were still slippery and shining with wear. There were smudges to the varnish on the wooden banister where the polish had been worn down by hundreds of hands trailing along it like Will was doing now. Still, it contained a sort of abandoned feel that would make anyone else shudder. To Will, the sense of it being something that was almost entirely his and his only was in a way comforting – it was open to all but something that Hodge reckoned was a secret between only three people; himself, Magnus and another person whom he wouldn't mention. Actually, during the only time that Hodge had mentioned the other… man he thought it was, his father had blanched and made wild gestures at Hodge. He had been younger then so he hadn't quite understood but he thought that he was probably trying to shut the librarian up. This had just made Will even more curious about the mysterious man, but Hodge wouldn't talk about him and neither would his dad so there was no way he was going to find out about him.

Finally after a couple of minutes of ascending, Will turned the final corner of the staircase. This was the section of the library reserved for Hodge's favourite books, the special ones. It was really a greenhouse, beautiful and exotic plants trailing everywhere, up the pillars and from random pots littered around. There was a staircase to nowhere in the centre of the room, brightly coloured flowers twined around the banisters and creating a rather ethereal look to the place that made Will smile in childish joy every time he saw it. The bookshelves were sparse, carefully placed in bushes and such so that they were slightly hidden. Although there were not very many books up here, they were all very old and very precious. Will had read all of them many times before, but he never tired of reading them, because they were special.

Today, he wandered over to his favourite bookshelf that contained several novels by Charles Dickens. Although Will didn't really understand all of them properly, he found the stories interesting and exciting, and he liked the idea of reading about normal life over a hundred years ago in some far away country, and he thought the books seemed important somehow. These were by far the most handled books up here – most of the spines were on the verge of falling off and the binding was worn away – and by far the most loved. He pulled one out at random and made his way to the top of the hanging staircase before settling down on the top step and looking at the cover.

A Tale of Two Cities. This was by far his favourite on the shelf, and he giggled to himself at his ability to select it without realising. Maybe he just gravitated towards it. Either way, he simply opened it at the first page and began to sink into the story in a way that no one else his age seemed to be able to and let it wash over him and whisk him away to the bygone era that he loved reading about so much. He stayed like that for a long while, losing track of time and smiling until he was pulled out of his happy reverie by the sound of gentle footsteps padding around the greenhouse he thought was his own.

…

Max's dad had decided to take him to the library where he had first met his other dad on the first day they were in New York. His dad had been up quite early, used to not having much sleep, but Max slept in quite late and so by the time he was up and had had breakfast it was turning into almost late afternoon, so his dad had told him there was only time to see on thing, so what did he want to go look at before they had to come back for dinner. Max had said he wanted to see the place where he had first met his other dad, and Alec had obliged, leading him out to the subway.

Now they were wandering through one of the many aisles in the place. Max had been astounded by the place. There were just so many books, he had never seen this many before. They were all different sizes and shapes and ages, and all he wanted to do was bury his nose in some of them and relax all afternoon and let himself get carried away, but there was a place and a person Alec had said he wanted Max to meet whilst they were there, and they sounded interesting so Max had immediately become curious and had gone along with it all.

Suddenly a desk appeared between the many books, and Max gasped. It was a very interesting desk, and Max cocked his head to the side in fascination. It was a massive slab, looking immensely heavy, being supported by two bent over angels with a look of pain crossed over their face. The detail was impeccable and it was certainly a very majestic if not very pretty work of art. Max let his eyes trail upwards. The man sitting at the desk looked very similar to the actual desk – pained, and majestic but not attractive. He looked very clever, and very eccentric. Max immediately took a liking to him.

The man looked up as they approached the desk and looked very startled indeed at the sight of them. Max wondered why, but then he saw that he was staring at Alec with his eyes very wide, and realized that the man must have known his father before he moved away from the city. Max wondered if the man had ever expected to see him again – by the looks of his expression no. Alec was gripping his hand rather tightly, and he wondered if his father was nervous to see the man after all of these years. Speak of the devil, he rose up and came around in front of the desk to greet his father with a handshake.

"Alexander Lightwood." He said, gripping Alec's hand between two of his, "I never thought I would see you here again. Why haven't you been to visit? Ma…" Alec quickly cut him of with some drastic hand movements. He nodded and corrected himself. "He said that you just disappeared and that no one knew where you had gone." Alec nodded.

"I didn't want to be followed. I just wanted a new life with Max here; though I did miss this place." At this point the man snapped his gaze to Max.

"Oh my… but he looks so similar…" The man shook himself, as if snapping out of a memory. He bent down and shook Max's hand energetically. "Hello, young man. I'm Hodge, the main librarian here. I knew your father quite well before he left New York." Alec gestured that he would be one moment to Hodge before leading Max off to the side.

"Listen, Max, I need to have a word with Hodge on my own, but would you like to go off and see my favourite part of this place whilst you are waiting?" Max nodded, keen to see anything that his father liked; he normally liked the most interesting and unusual places, and he also wanted to know a bit about his dad's past – it was mysterious to him, and he wanted to learn more about it so he could learn more about his dad.

"The door is just over there. The room is at the top of a tower, and it is basically a massive greenhouse with plants and flowers and books." Alec pointed to a door that was slightly ajar nestled in between two bookshelves. It was barely visible. "I'll come and get you when I'm finished, yeh?" Max had already begun to hurry towards the door, barely noticing his father smiling after him before turning back to the eccentric librarian.

…

Will could only stare as a boy came around from behind a bush in the room and looked up at the staircase he was sitting on. The boy looked around his own age, with tanned skin, dark hair that matched his own and a slightly Asian slant to his eyes. He looked – actually, he looked very similar to his father. This fact was confirmed when the boy looked up at the staircase and at Will. His eyes were a brilliant golden green that he had only ever seen in Magnus. It was weird, but oh well. Life wasn't fun without coincidences. Will had always encouraged them whenever they appeared.

Looking at the boy again he seemed quite embarrassed, as if he felt like he was invading something private. He had felt that look pass over his face when he had come in too early to his dad's bedroom ever year on the day two days after his birthday – so tomorrow. He quickly smiled at the boy and began to make his way down the stairs towards the boy. He looked interesting, the sort of person he would want to make friends with. The other boy still looked nervous.

"Oh…um…sorry if I was interrupting…um…I'll just…go…" The boy turned away and began to walk towards the door. Will quickly ran after him and put his hand on the other boy's shoulder to stop him. He didn't want to scare him away – it was actually pretty nice to see someone his own age this interested in the books up here; he had seen his face. He had looked astounded, in a way only Will did. Whenever he had tried to take his friends up here, they had seemed bored. But not this boy.

"No, don't go." The boy whipped round, startled. Will smiled. "I'm Will. Who are you?" The boy stuttered for a moment, his head down to the floor and fiddling with the hem of his t-shirt. Then he met Will's gaze and smiled back, as if finding a bit of confidence.

"I'm Max. It's…nice to meet you Will."

"Are you new in the Institute Max? I just haven't seen you here before…well I've never seen anyone up here."

"Yeh… my dad brought me here. He used to live in New York before I was born, and he used to love it up here apparently…" Will laughed.

"What?" Max looked scared, as if he had said something wrong. Will quickly waved his hands at him to try and wave away those thoughts.

"No, it's nothing, honestly. I just didn't realise more people used to know about up here." Max shrugged.

"He just said it's where he met the love of his life. That he used to love to come up here with them and watch the world go by outside and just… just be. Especially in winter." Will nodded.

"My dad comes up here a lot to do that. He's been coming up here for _years, _since before he was my age. He says it makes him feel like he is in his own little world like books do." Max nodded in a way that suggested he was wise beyond his years – just like Will.

"I can see why he sees this place that way. It looks kind of like… like a fantasy world." Will laughed.

"So you like books then? Of course, silly question. You are this impressed by a library."

"Yes, I love books! Books and comics are my favourite things." Will looked impressed.

"So, do you live in New York?" Max shook his head.

"No, California. But I take it you live here? You seem to know the library well."

"Yeh, I just live a short subway ride from here, in Brooklyn. Lived in the same place for all my life with my dad. I…never knew my mom. And dad never talks about her."

"Same. Well, I wouldn't have ever met my mom, she was a surrogate mother, but I never knew my other dad either. My dad and him split up when I was very young and we moved away." Will frowned, contemplating it and thinking. His dad had never told him anything like that level of detail about his past, detail he had wanted to know, he had just gotten the motivation to ask Magnus. Max's past was clearly traumatic, something his father probably wouldn't have wanted to talk about, and yet he still had. If his dad could man up, then Magnus could. Just then a man called up into the room.

"Max? Could you come down please, I've found something I want to show you?" Max looked over his shoulder, sighed, and turned back to Will.

"Sorry, I have to go now. It was nice to meet you, Will." Will smiled.

"I hope I'll see you again before you leave." Max shrugged.

"Maybe." The voice came again, sounding concerned.

"Max?! Are you okay?!"

"Yeh, just coming Dad!" He called over his shoulder. "Bye Will."

"Bye Max." Will watched as Max disappeared down the spiral staircase and out of sight. He hoped that he would see him again, because in the short conversation that they had managed to have he had seemed like a pretty awesome and interesting person, the sort of person that he would want to be friends with and that his dad would actually like. Too bad that he lived in California.

…

Alec watched as Max sauntered down the steps and out of the big door, squeezing through the gap and grinning at his father. He walked up to his dad, and he clapped a hand on his shoulder and led him towards another small table hidden in a bookshelf, chatting to him on the way. Max was smiling, so Alec guessed that he had liked the greenhouse. He just hoped that he would be interested in what Alec had open on the table.

"I take it you liked the greenhouse then." Max nodded energetically at him.

"It had some really good books in it. They looked really old and special, and I met this really nice boy called Will. He was funny." Alec smiled, glad that Max was having a good time. This had been the aim of the trip, after all.

"I have a book to show you, Max. Hodge has just given it to me, as a gift, and it has lots of pictures in it. I think you might be interested in them." The boy looked up at him in curiosity then.

"What are they pictures of?"

"You'll see." They came up to the book, and Max stared down at the page it was open on in curiosity. There were many, many pictures, some small, some large, all stuck down with meticulous care and labelled in a neat print. It had been Alec's photo album of him and Magnus when they were still together, and on the day he had left Alec had left it on the doorstep of the Institute in the hope that Hodge or someone would find it and it would be locked away somewhere safe. Well, he had got it back now, and he was going to treasure it, because the memories had faded to slightly tinted with happiness instead of solely pain.

He watched as Max flicked through the book, looking at all of the photographs of the pair of men, happy and smiling at the camera. Max laughed at some of the photos of Magnus when he was fooling around, of when he had been wearing way too much glitter and when he had nearly given Alec a broken arm by yanking him up onto a wall to have the photo taken. The photographer, who had probably been Jace, had taken a photo of Alec being pulled up and Alec just falling into the sea beyond the wall – and the rocks. That had been a messy but fun afternoon.

Then Max got to the last page, and Alec gulped. These last two pages were clearly labelled 'Our Future – The Four of Us'. There was a picture of the surrogate mother with Magnus and Alec, smiling, the ultrasound scans and the two twins barely a few hours old nose to nose. And then there had been the picture outside hospital, when they had been happy just before the fight. Except there was only Magnus and the other child. Alec had ripped the photo in half, chucked the part with Alec and Max on the floor in his former bedroom, and slotted the other half into the album before leaving it outside the Institute. The picture was labelled, in an unfamiliar script, 'The ones left behind'. Alec plucked the book up and slotted it into his bag.

"I just thought you might want to see that. To sort of get to know your other dad a little bit." Max beamed at Alec.

"I really liked looking at it! It was funny! What happened when you fell off of that wall, though?" Alec laughed.

"Well…" They walked out of the Institute like that, laughing at joking at past anecdotes of Alec and Magnus, happy together. Alec was finally ready to tell Max more, probably because he was back where the memories were strongest, and he was ready to tell Max everything he wanted to know. Even Magnus's name. He was ready for Max to know that after all these years.

…

_**So? What do you think? Please tell me! I really hope you enjoyed the chapter.**_

_**Lu xxx**_


	5. Meetings In Taki's

_**Here we are, and update for you. I had a sudden stroke of inspiration and decided to write. Enjoy! **_

…

The next day, Alec decided to take Max to Taki's, partially because he felt that it was time for him to visit it, and partially because he needed to have a serious chat with his son. He had some big news to break to him that he had found out last night. Max wasn't the only reason he had returned to New York, and now… well now things had changed dramatically again. He was excited because he knew that Max would be mega excited, and it always made him happy to see his little boy smile.

The two of them wandered down the road together, Max going on and on about this other boy that he had met in the Institute the previous day. His son had reacted to the library in exactly the same way Alec had himself when he was younger and he had been fascinated about the book of his two dads, talking non stop about them all of the previous night, and it was only now that he had told Alec about this other kid. Alec was actually quite interested – Max wasn't especially brilliant with new people, much like Alec himself, and so anyone who the boy was comfortable deserved a medal in his eyes.

"…and he looked really impressed by the fact that I love books, everyone else just thinks I am weird!" Max finished happily, grinning up at his father. He smiled back down at him.

"Well, I'm glad you had a good time. What did you say his name was again?" Max hit his forehead playfully.

"I didn't! No, his name was Will. I think it might be short for William." Alec nodded along.

"I'm sure it is." He stopped, realising where they were. "We're here."

Taki's hadn't changed a bit from when he had last been there. The paint was slightly more peeling on the sign, granted, but the bright white lettering spelling out the name was still shining strongly through, and the windows were still lit with a faint, welcoming orange glow. This place brought back more memories than the Institute even had, because it also held the memories of his siblings Isabelle and Jace. They had loved to come here, the three of them, to forget their issues at home and just be normal teenagers for once. He had first come out to them in Taki's. He had first told them all his other secrets there. He had first introduced them to Magnus… okay; he didn't like the drift anymore. This was the present, not the past, and he fully intended to live it to the full.

They found a table in the corner and sat down on the hard plastic bench seats, the rickety metal table creaking ominously as they leant on it. Max looked around curiously at the place, and then even more curiously at the menu – Taki's catered for some more… unusual tastes. Like the rest of the place, the menu hadn't changed one bit, and Alec could vaguely remember some of the faces in here, although he doubted that they would remember him, he had been gone so long. He squinted around, trying to put names to faces, until the waitress Kaelie came to take their order. So she still worked there. It was like nothing had changed here at all – except of course everything had.

She walked up now, her eyes still a glassy translucent blue, her dyed blonde hair still pulled back up on her head and her lips still plastered in bright red. She was unchanged down to the large gold hoops spinning around her ears and the cheap white stilettos. Alec smiled to himself. The girl was absorbed in her notepad, and so hadn't noticed who he was yet.

"Heya, what can I get…you!" Kaelie had looked up, a look of shock and recognition plastered clearly on her face. Who could blame her?

"Alec Lightwood… I was never expecting to see you again!" Alec smiled up at her.

"And hello to you too, Kaelie." He said it lightly, not really meaning to make any major impact.

"Yeh, sorry, it is good to see you it's just… wow. When you disappeared like that, and Magnus went into recluse mode… well, we were never expecting to see you again, any of us." Alec panicked slightly. She slumped down onto the bench across from the boys, drumming her long pink fingernails on the table.

"Yeh, about that Kaelie…" A small, timid voice cut him up.

"Who is Magnus?" Both Kaelie and Alec snapped their heads round. Kaelie pointed a finger at Max.

"Okay, who is that, Alec? Explain?" Alec sighed.

"That's Max, my son, it's a long story, and I'll tell you later." He said quickly. Max interjected again.

"Dad, who is Magnus?" Alec gulped. Kaelie raised a pencilled in eyebrow, and ceased her drumming, but didn't say anything.

"You know I was saying about your other dad… Magnus is him. That's his name." Kaelie's eyebrows shot into her hair.

"Wait, you and Magnus had a kid? With like, a surrogate or something? What?!" Alec gulped again.

"Yep. I'm surprised he didn't tell you actually. He never was one for secrets. Oh no, he was. I forget." The sound in his voice was so bitter and full of pain that he hated it, but he couldn't help himself. It had to be said. It had to be.

"No. No one has seen him since… since then. He just shut himself off from everyone he had ever known, still in public what with the magazine but… yeh. We haven't heard from him since whatever it was happened and you just disappeared into thin air. You know, Iz and Jace are still really cut up about that, they are going to be so excited when I tell them!" Alec raised his hands and shook them.

"No, no, no Kaelie, they are not to know I am back. I have a new life now, a new family, and I just want to leave all of those memories behind." Kaelie smiled evilly at him, and waved her phone up. She had clearly been texting under the table.

"Too bad. Already texted Isabelle. They're gonna be here in…" She checked her phone. "Two minutes." Alec blanched.

"Dad, who are Jace and Isabelle?"

"My brother and sister."

Okay, so he may have forgotten, okay consciously decided, to not tell Max about his siblings. He didn't want too much complication. Plus he was scared about too much conversation about them, because he regretted just leaving them. They had no idea what had actually happened between him and Magnus, why he had left, even about Max. God, this was messed up. And now, he was just totally screwed.

"Come on Max, we are leaving. Now." He grabbed the boy's hand and led him firmly out of the booth and into the main restaurant area. He turned around and shot a venomous look at Kaelie, who looked like she was about to giggle.

"Thanks a lot Kaelie. It's good to know that you're still a heartless bitch." She finally let out that annoying tinkling laugh that he certainly hadn't missed.

"Turn around why don't you." Alec did just that. If it was possible for him to get any paler, then he did.

Isabelle and Jace Lightwood were hurrying down the street, heads tucked against the wind. They were both the same; well, almost. Jace was unchanged, exactly the way Alec remembered. The same golden hair and stoic face, determined and strong, the same black coat and jeans and heavy biker boots. Izzy still had the beautifully ebony locks and thigh high boots, but her figure was no longer quite slender in her tight silvery dress. There was a slight bulge in her abdomen. So she was pregnant. Probably pregnant with a guy that Alec had never met before. Oh shit. The guilt again. Maybe Jace had a family? No, no, no. No. He just needed to get out of this damned situation and fast. He couldn't open up the old wounds again – they had been bandaged and healed for a reason. He whipped his head back around to Kaelie – he had about two extra seconds because the table was right in the corner but that was it.

"Kaelie, seriously, just let me out of the back exit or something, please!" He could hear the pleading edge to his own voice, the desperation, the sheer panic. She waggled her finger at him.

"Oh no, I cannot wait to see how this one plays out. Good look, sweetie!" Alec heard the door swing open, felt Max's grip on his hand tighten enormously. Kaelie waved energetically over his shoulder, her grin broad and teasing.

"Hey, you two, over here!" She shouted gleefully. She turned to Alec. "Have fun."

Her heels clacked loudly on the floor as she made her way towards the kitchen away from him. He felt two people come up to stand behind him and Max, but he didn't dare to turn around. It was one thing trying to face the city and the places and the people who had been in the background. It was another _entirely_ to try and face those who had been as key in his life as Iz and Jace had. He gulped. He would not turn around. He wouldn't. Max didn't seem very inclined to either, still hanging onto Alec s if he was the last thing left to break his fall. Maybe he could just sense his dad's apprehension and therefore was fearful too.

"Where have you been for the past _eight years_ Alec?!" It was Isabelle talking, the anger clear in her voice. Even in the short phrase, her voice had raised at least an octave. "Hmm? Eight years, no word, no reasons, just thin air left where our brother had once stood. And Magnus closed off, and no one else knowing either?!" Alec had begun to shake slightly, his breath becoming hitched.

"Oh, won't even turn round and face us?" Jace. Snarky and cold. He was giving Alec the front he gave to those he didn't know. Well, Jace didn't know him. Not anymore.

"Alec, why the hell did you do that to us when we needed you most?! You missed Jace's first kid, you nearly missed mine, you missed our weddings, you missed _everything_!" She sounded furious. "How could you even contemplate leaving us?! We are your siblings! Does that mean _anything_ to you?!"

At that moment something snapped inside Alec. He had lived with this guilt the entire time. He had done this for some selfish reasons, yes, trying to escape the pain of life. However, he had had unselfish reasons too. He had been just messing up the relationship Jace and Izzy had with their parents; whenever he had stepped in to look after them when his parents had been away, all hell had broken loose. This had been most weeks. He had not wanted to give awful reminders to Magnus, to trouble him, to pain him. He was better off out of their lives. Oh God. He snapped around, terrified that he was going to mess things up but knowing that it was going to happen whether he liked it or not.

"Yes, because I am entirely selfish, aren't I?! I screwed up my relationship big time because I spent almost every weekend with you and not with my boyfriend, who mistook it for me cavorting with Jace because he thought I still liked him! I moved away so that you wouldn't get caught in the crossfire between me and Robert and Maryse which left you crying on most occasions! I moved so that I wouldn't remind Magnus of everything! I moved to give Max a better life than the one I have had, and I moved so that I would not burden any of you with my moping over the relationship! So don't you dare call me selfish and like I don't care about you because I have done _everything _in my life for _other people _and _nothing whatsoever for myself!_"

Alec found himself shaking with rage now, at them, at his parents, at life, at the whole flipping world. He just stared at the golden eyes and the black ones, the shock in their eyes that made Alec feel guilty again despite everything. That was what he hated, that was what he hated beyond everything. He knew he was crying, but he really couldn't help it. He felt Max tugging at his sleeve nervously.

"Is this Uncle Jace and Aunty Izzy?" Alec looked down at his son, quickly nodding.

"They don't deserve those titles, but yes." His gaze snapped back up to the startled looking pair.

"Yeh, I'm not the only one who has missed the first children. The difference is, Max was conceived when I still knew you two. And it is a very long and complicated story, but I am _sure _that you won't want to hear it because you are too wrapped up in your own little worlds to care about anyone else."

He said this coldly and with as much poison as he possibly could. Alec was well aware that the entire of the little café was probably staring right at the admittedly unusual and exciting scene unfurling before their eyes, but he couldn't bring himself to care. Let them stare. Let them judge. Screw the world; he had had enough of it treating him like bullshit. Absolutely enough.

"If it pleases you two so much, I'm moving back to New York for a job, so I'm sure you guys will just love to use me to your advantage again. Don't expect me to come running back to you, because to be honest I am fed up of the way you guys have been treating me and I really don't want to know you. Come on Max, we are leaving." Jace looked as him with a disconnected blankness, as if he was trying to process everything he had just heard, and Izzy looked desperate.

"Alec…" He put up a hand to silence her.

"I don't want to hear it Iz. I'm sorry, but I don't.

And with that he stormed past his siblings, Max in tow, and out of the place. The tears had begun to flow freely down his face as the two of them made their way along the side walk and towards the tube station in an awful, sad silence. Alec knew he shouldn't have shouted so much, but he hadn't been ale to help it. He was fed up of being kicked around and treated like he didn't matter and being blamed for everything. He hated the fact that he had been made to believe that it was his fault every time something went wrong, even when it blatantly wasn't, but it had gotten to the stage where he simply wasn't able to help it anymore.

After a short time Max broke the silence.

"Daddy…" Oh god. Max hadn't called him that for years. This was bad.

"Yes Max?" He said as softly as he could. His hands were still shaking, one of them clasped around Max's.

"Did you really move away from all of the things you loved for me?" Alec sighed.

"I moved to get away from my own demons, to protect the people here, and to protect you. Don't blame yourself for anything that happened back there okay? Okay, Max?" He said this gently but firmly/ Max nodded and leant slightly on Alec as they walked. The mood between them both was awfully depressing.

"I am so sorry that you had to be there when that happened Max. You shouldn't have had to witness that at all, that should have been something that you were shielded from." Max shook his head.

"It wasn't your fault, it was Kellie's." Alec laughed.

"Kaelie's, but yep, I guess so. She always did have a habit of sticking her nose into things with disastrous consequences. Always found it hilarious. I can only assume that she still does." Max snorted.

"She sounds awful." He looked down to see the boy wrinkling his nose.

"Ohh, believe me she is. I hope that you will never have the misfortune to run across someone like her in your life." Max giggled.

"Why does she hate you so much though?" Alec raised his eyebrows at the boy.

"Oh you noticed that, did you? Well, basically, it is because she always felt rivalry between us over Jace, because we both liked him - in fact, she used the fact that I did to blackmail me on several occasions. Anyway, she always hated the fact that I was closer to him than she was, and that he actually appeared to like me as a person, whereas he clearly didn't like her." Max furrowed his brow.

"But I though Jace was your brother?" He nodded.

"He is. Adopted. At the time he was only being fostered by us. By the time my parents adopted him I had moved on. It was just a childish crush, we were only what, eleven, but Kaelie still held it against me. She has always been way too serious about getting the right guy from an early age, and for her Jace is a star catch. Too bad he is married – well, I assume he is anyway." Max nodded, but his brow was still furrowed. He looked up at Alec, a very serious expression on his face.

"Okay, but I still don't understand something."

"And what may I ask is that, Max."

"Dad, what is a 'catch'?" Alec could only laugh at that.

…

_**What do you think? This was only meant to be short scene, but then it kind of just went on… Oh well. I hope you enjoyed reading it, and I plan to update soon, but school may have to take priority I am afraid. **___

_**Lu xxx**_


	6. Memories and Futures

_**Another update for you today because I am feeling in the mood to write and another dedication to Tibbiel, who is just awesome and IS an angel (she has a halo and everything). Enjoy the chapter; I have tried to make it a bit longer this time. **_

_**Lu xxx**_

* * *

Alec led Max along the rapidly darkening street towards the new marble building that had been open only a few weeks. This was where their apartment was. The apartment that was to become their home. The rest of their things were going to be shipped over and dropped off at some point over the next couple of days and the following Monday he would begin work as a columnist in the biggest newspaper in the city, The Idris Times. Alec had been writing for the newspaper in their small town back in California for years on and off, but when he had been told that he had been offered a job by arguably the biggest newspaper in the country it had been a dream come true. The massively posh apartment on Riverside Drive that had come with the job had also been a dream come true. It was just too bad that the city and the people in it were Alec's worst nightmare.

The two of them wandered into the lobby. There was a shining black marble desk, tasteful chaste lounges scattered at equally tasteful intervals, and white light glowing softly from crystals on the walls. The entire lobby actually was black, but it didn't feel cold or dark; the lights were strong enough to prevent that, but not so strong as to blind you. It was all actually very nice. Max was looking around in awe at the place, his small suitcase trailing behind him quietly. He looked perfect to Alec. He gave his son's hand a quick squeeze as they came up to the desk. A short woman sat behind the desk tapping something away at the computer. The white blouse and prim bun did nothing to hide the girl herself. Wisps of bright red hair were flung around her face and the mascara she was wearing was slightly smudged under her eyes. No matter how much more grown up she looked, Alec would never be able to mistake her for anyone else. Clary. She had been Jace's girlfriend when he had left. He wondered if that was who he had married. In a way, he hoped so. Clary had always been a very good influence on Jace, levelling him, telling him off when he snapped out. She was brilliant.

She smiled as she looked up, beaming from ear to ear. So she had no hard feelings about him.

"Oh my goodness Alec, it's great to see you!" She got up and hugged him across the desk. "I knew that some A. Lightwood was going to be living in the penthouse here but I didn't dare hope it was going to be you! I've missed you so much!" Alec laughed, drawing back. He noticed the two sparkling rings decorating her ring finger. So she was married.

"It's great to see you too! And I guess congratulations are in order. Who is it then? Anyone I know?" Alec pointed to the rings. Clary blushed a deep shade of maroon. It was adorable.

"Yeh, Jace. Three years ago." Alec smiled.

"Well, I'm glad; you two are perfect for each other! Any little ones yet, or not?" Clary nodded.

"Yeh, Tessa. She's two. I hate leaving her, but we needed the extra money and I have a good childminder." She looked over the desk and saw Max staring up at her in wonder. She glanced back at Alec.

"I see you have one of your own. Heya!" She said, waving at the boy. He waved back at her.

"Hello. I'm Max. You're Clary, aren't you? Daddy always spoke about you. He said you were very special and very nice and that you would be a great godmother to me if you could meet me!" Now it was Alec's turn to blush.

"You made me Max's godmother?" She asked.

"Yep. Who else? You are perfect." She smiled again at that, and looked down at Max.

"Well, young man, I can think of no greater honour than being your godmother, and I fully intend to spend as much time as possible with you." She turned back to Alec. "And I think we need to have a proper catch up coffee too. Tomorrow afternoon at Taki's?" Alec nodded – he wasn't going to let the earlier incident put him off of the place that he loved so much. Although he may have to figure out a way to get Kaelie sacked. Okay, he definitely would.

"Sounds good!" Clary laughed before beginning to rummage behind the desk for something. Alec had to wait a couple of minutes and listen to a crash and several choice swear words before she finally emerged, her hair now even more messed up, and raised a set of keys triumphantly before his eyes.

"Your keys sir." She batted her eyelashes at him and pouted, doing a perfect imitation of a Bond girl. Alec hit her gently on the shoulder and took the keys gently from her outstretched finger.

"Cut it out, Clary, that is _not_ attractive." He said it with a laugh though, and as he made to his way to the lift with Max he turned back and gave her a quick salute, a gesture that they had used a lot when they were younger and quite good friends.

"See you tomorrow then. Let's say three?" Clary saluted back.

"Gotcha!"

He smiled as they ascended the building in the spacious lift, the only one in his life that had given extra room after two people and their suitcases had crammed in. At least one of the people he had left behind did not hold anything against him, and was still willing to know him without constantly moaning about his faults and how he had supposedly abandoned him. It was very nice to know that someone still cared about _him _as a person, and not just at how he could be used to their advantage as a means to an end. He just hoped that Clary wouldn't drag Jace along to the meeting as well. He would not be able to cope with that at all, that would be too much too soon, especially after what had happened yesterday in Taki's. He had always imagined Izzy as selfish and obnoxious, but he had always thought that Jace was loyal and caring under the façade, standing by his family. Clearly that had been the wrong assumption to make about the boy. Maybe Alec had needed the separation from his family to see what they really were.

The lift screeched to a halt – apparently that was a generic feature of all of them – and the doors swung open onto the top floor. The two of them slid out into the corridor as the doors swung shut again, and after a bit of fiddling the lock in the door clicked open and the apartment was revealed. Like the rest of the building, it appeared to be mostly marble, with a slick modern kitchen and plush black leather sofas everywhere. After a little trial and error, Alec found the room destined to be Max's and put the boy to be before dropping onto one of the sofas, flicking on the plasma screen TV, and switching the channel until it got to the news. It was the only decent thing on, proof that Thursday night television was atrocious.

* * *

Magnus groaned. It was his week off this week – he always took this week off from the magazine he edited because Will was off school and it was his birthday – and he had been sleeping in. The phone was ringing. Who had the indecency to ring this early? Most people would think that two in the afternoon was actually rather late, especially on a weekday, but Magnus begged to differ – when he was on holiday he partied way into the night and slept well into the day. Groggily he leant over the bed and slid his mobile off of the bedside table. It was an unknown number. Great. If this was some crumby guy trying to sell him insurance he was going to be severely pissed off. He hit the answer button dubiously and held the damn thing up to his ears.

"Magnus Bane speaking, who the hell is this?" He snapped, the irritation at the caller very evident in his voice. The caller giggled very annoyingly in a high pitched, girly fashion. Great. Just what he needed.

"Why, it's me, Kaelie, from Taki's! We've all missed you a lot, you know!" Magnus felt fury rise in his chest. He loathed Kaelie with every fibre of his being.

"I don't care. Who gave you my fricking number?!" Kaelie tutted loudly and Magnus could almost see her rolling her eyes dramatically.

"A guy at you office. Jordan. I promised him that I would put a good word in with one of my customers for him if he gave me it." She giggled again. It was completely infuriating, and made him want to rip his own hair out. Or better, rip out Kaelie's. He doubted that would be hard – from what he remembered it was mostly tacky extensions anyway.

"Well, he's fired when I get in on Monday. As for you, if you call again I will report you to the police for abuse. I do not want to know you. I would rather not acknowledge your existence thanks."

"Well, do you want to know your old friends, Magnus? Or have you forgotten them? Izzy, Jace, Clary. And who could forget A…" Magnus hung up abruptly. He did not want to hear about Alec, not today. It had been eight years since he had made the biggest mistake of his life, and he didn't want to go back there. He had tried to move on, and was getting his life back on track. Alec was history. He had accepted long ago that he was never going to return from whatever place he had disappeared to. He had Will. He was all he needed in his life. Well, almost all.

The phone rang again. Magnus assumed that it must be Kaelie ringing him back to piss him off some more, and was in half a mind to throw it at the wall, but it was new – and anyway, it would be much more fun to shout at her like a lunatic than deal with more insurance paperwork. He had already broken his phone at least twice this month. It had become a bit of a habit to throw it at things when he was upset or angry or stressed. Which apparently was quite a lot.

"Oh for god's sake Kaelie will you _stop ringing me_!" He heard someone breathe in sharply in the background.

"Okay, who the hell is Kaelie Magnus?" Magnus bit down on his lip. Shit. It was…

"Camille, sorry, she isn't anyone. Well, she is. She is this deranged bitch who keeps calling me to wind me up about stuff that happened years ago that didn't even involve her. She's the waitress at Taki's."

"Oh, alright." Camille sounded like she accepted this, but Magnus wasn't sure – there still seemed to be a bit of apprehension in her voice. It worried him.

"Anyway, Camille my dear, what is it you want?"

"Well Magnus, I happen to be outside your door and I was wondering if it would be okay if I came in?"

"Yeh, sure. Will is out at his friend's house and will be overnight, so we have all the time you want. Feel free to venture into my humble abode. I will be out in about ten minutes – I happen to have just woken up."

"Okay then sweetie. Ten minutes." This time it was Camille who hung up. He had just pulled on any random pair of jeans and a purple button down shirt with a glittery collar and buttons when he heard the door swing open – Camille had had a key to the apartment for a few months now. He ran into the bathroom to quickly put on at least eyeliner and then some glittery hair gel. He had to make a least some effort to look magnificent, even if it would have to be a very toned down look.

When he deemed himself fit, he flung open his bedroom door and faced the scene. There was Camille on the low red leather sofa, pouting up at him with blood red lipstick that lit up her pale face. The red summer dress she wore would be considered by most verging on indecent but to Magnus very modest, and the heels were not saucy, contrary to popular belief, but rather stylish and sophisticated. All three shades were exactly the same. Her pale blonde hair fell around her face in a golden waterfall, and Magnus wondered how many hours she had spent getting it perfect – getting herself perfect. She battered her long, black eyelashes at him and stood up. Her eyes glinted a dangerous acid green. Magnus loved danger.

"Hello darling." She purred in a heavy accent. "I trust that I find you well on this striking afternoon?" The seductive tone in her voice made Magnus shudder slightly. He ignored the feeling.

"You do indeed Camille. To what do I owe the pleasure today?" Camille laughed. It was not the girlish flirting noise that Kaelie had made – this was strong and predatory. And very unnerving. Camille may have been Magnus's girlfriend, but she scared him. A lot.

"Why, I just wanted to see you Magnus! Is that too much to ask?"

She smiled, showing her sharp little teeth, and began to advance towards Magnus like a lion may stalk a gazelle. Magnus just stood there with an equally predatory glare. Rule one of loving Camille Belcourt – show all of your strengths and absolutely none of your weaknesses. As soon as she gets one of those she will use it to wrap you around her little finger and get what she wants. Well, Magnus had already allowed that to happen, and had done it to her. It was a level playing field.

"Absolutely not my sweet. It is always an honour to be in your presence." She was right in front of him. Magnus blinked. There was no space between them.

"And it is a privilege to be in yours."

Magnus wrapped his hands around Camille's waist, bringing her even closer to him. She placed her hands on her shoulder, gripping them tightly. He was going to have claw – no, nail – marks the next day. In her killer heels – Magnus had no doubt that Camille could kill a man in them, in fact she probably already had – she was almost as tall as him. Their foreheads and noses pressed gently together. Magnus could feel the heat washing off him and the coolness of her skin seep into his. Her skin was so very, very cold. Maybe it was because her heart was made of ice. Magnus didn't care though. He had given up in romance eight years ago when he had made the worst mistake of his life. Camille was just a distraction, but she didn't mind. He was a distraction for her as well. Magnus closed the gap between them finally, crushing his lips against hers. She tasted of strawberries.

* * *

Will eventually got home from Eric's house at around eight at night. Eric's mom had ridden back with him in the taxi and made sure that he had gotten into the building alright, but Will was annoyed at that. It was light outside, so surely he would be fine? Okay, he knew that there would be dangers, but he could deal with danger, because it was normally waiting for him in the apartment that he shared with his father every time he had been out for the day. The real trouble lay inside, and not outside. The real trouble was a bitch, and Will hated her.

Sure enough, when he walked in the door the trouble was sat giggling on the sofa with his dad, getting cherries popped into her mouth playfully. Will thought it was disgusting. Not the love business. The Camille using her father to pay her own debts off and keep her lavish lifestyle. Maybe the red overload was a symbol. It was a symbol of how that monster was bleeding his dad dry and taking him away from Will. He just hoped Camille never married Magnus. She would be the epitome of wicked stepmother. And from what Will had read about evil stepmothers in books; it would be horrific.

He dumped his bag mercilessly on the floor and kicked off his converse expertly, causing them to spiral several times in the air before landing perfectly next to each other. His dad had taught him that. Then he slammed the door shut. Still, his father and Camille didn't notice his presence, or pretended not too anyway. That was the worst thing Camille did – she made his dad forget his existence entirely. And when Will's dad was everything that he had, and everything he had ever had, this upset him quite a lot; all he wanted to do was punch her and mess up that pretty face – okay, so maybe he had read a few too many violent books for his age. Oh well. She did deserve it. However, today he decided that the best tactic would be to be nice to Camille. Maybe that would gain their attention, as this never happened. Both adults knew that Will hated their relationship.

"Hi Dad. Hi Camille." No response. Will came up right behind the sofa and placed a hand on the back of it.

"I think I'm going to go to bed now, I'm exhausted. Don't worry about dinner – Eric's mom fed me." Still no acknowledgement.

Will looked at his father. He was entirely transfixed on Camille, his golden green eyes that Will had seen pretty much nowhere else – Magnus had just stated that the blue eyes came from the other side of the family, so Will assumed that his mother had had them – gazing in a strange, glazed over manner into the acid green ones boring back into him. But the strange thing was that to Will, it didn't appear to be love. It seemed like something else, and there almost seemed to be some underlying sadness, some deep pain in there that Will was confused about. But his dad was happy with Camille! He was smiling! So why did he look so very, very unhappy?

"Dad, why do you look so sad?" Max asked. At that his father's head snapped up and he turned to face his son. Finally.

"What do you mean, Will?" He asked quickly. Will noticed that there was the hint of panic in his voice. But why?

"Well, you look happy but then you look really unhappy too!" Camille suddenly slapped her hand over her mouth, before lowering it slowly. She had red talons, sorry nails, too.

"Oh my God, I am so sorry, it's the anniversary today isn't it?!" Both Magnus and Will snapped their eyes to her, and fast.

"What?!" The exclaimed simultaneously. Will's dad was the first to speak again after that.

"What do you mean, Camille?" He hissed as her through his teeth. Will had seen that look before; he was trying desperately hard no to slap her. He had to suppress a giggle.

"I'm sorry, I whould never have come, I'll just go…"

"What anniversary?"

"No Camille, it's fine, you can stay, I don't mind…"

"Magnus, I'm sure you just need space to clear your head about the whole thing, I know how upset you still are about it…"

"Camille please just be quiet…" Magnus gestured towards Will with his head.

"What anniversary?!"

"I know how much you still miss him, I mean eight years after what you went through is awful…"

"Dad…"

"_Just shut up!_" Magus roared suddenly standing up with a look of fury on his face. This again died down to something that Will couldn't place. All he knew was that he didn't like seeing his dad like that.

"Camille, please leave. I'm sorry, but please just go." His voice was shaking, Will noticed, as was the rest of him. Magnus watched as Camille sauntered out of the door, her head held arrogantly high, before pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger and turning towards Will.

"Will, go to bed. I'll see you in the morning, yeh?" Will nodded, eager not to upset his dad any further, because he was sure that this was his fault for bringing up the topic like he did in front of Camille. He ran forward and grabbed his father tightly around the waist in a hug.

"I'm sorry, Dad." Magnus ruffled his hair affectionately.

"Sorry for what, Will?"

"For making you sad." Magnus laughed slightly – it was a shaky laugh, and a sad one. A hopeless one. It scared Will, because his dad had always been the most hopeful person that he had ever known.

"That's not your fault. It's my fault." Magnus kissed the top of his son's hair. "Now, go to bed please." Will nodded again, and hopped off to his bedroom, still worried but deciding not to worry think about it. His dad had dealt with everything, so surely his dad could deal with this? Only time would tell.

* * *

Max had gone to bed, but he wasn't sleeping. He was flicking through the photo album that belonged to his father instead, looking at all of the pictures and trying to piece together his other father. Magnus. Well, the name suited him well. In all the pictures he certainly looked flamboyant; he seemed to be in love with glitter and colour, never dressed in just grey and black like his dad. He was always smiling, always joking around. He never looked really too serious, more just the sort of person who enjoyed life and lived for the moment. The strange thing was, seeing his dad in the pictures, he seemed happy and carefree as well, as if Magnus was teaching him to live. Now he just looked serious all of the time, and quite sad as well. Max wondered if he had ever stopped missing Magnus after what had happened. By the looks of things, no.

He was also quite shaken up by the day's events. First of all, he had found out a bit about Alec's life pre-California. All he had known previously was that he had been born of a surrogate mother, he had two dads, he had a twin brother, his dads had broken up and he had moved to California. No reasons why or anything. But now, it was starting to come together. The hard life that his dad had had before Max, the sadness and rejection he had had even then. The way his sister and his brother were awful to him and blamed him for everything. How that was one of the main reasons why the relationship broke down. Max still didn't know much about the break up, though. He didn't know whether it was just that, or whether there were other factors in play. He would ask his dad one day, but for now he didn't want to upset him any more, so he decided to just be content with what he knew. After all, Will from the library knew virtually nothing, his dad had told him nothing at all about his past.

He sighed, the tiredness finally hitting him strongly. He looked at his alarm clock; eleven o'clock. Now was probably a very good time to go to sleep if he was going to be up and doing things the next day, and besides the thought he might end up falling asleep anyway if he tried to stay up much longer. He let his favourite photograph sink into his brain before laying back on the mountain of pillows that he had built himself and letting sleep gradually carry him away like a boat on a lazy stream. The image stayed with him until he fell over the waterfall into darkness.

The picture was of Magnus and his dad at the beach at sunset (Max was still trying to adjust to this new person having name, and wasn't able to call him dad just yet). They were standing on the pier against the glowing orange sky looking at each other and laughing, as if sharing a private joke that only they knew. The look between them was of pure love and understanding, something that Max would have thought unmovable. But apparently, it had been moved. And all through his dreams that night, he was subconsciously asking himself – what could have happened between them that made their love not enough? Or was the whole break up a mistake that never should have, never needed to have taken place?

* * *

_Magnus was staring at him not with hate, but with an expression on his face that he just couldn't place. Alec didn't want to admit it, but he was pretty sure it was a look of betrayal, of hurt. When Alec had got back from babysitting his brother and sister – seriously, they were only a few years younger than him, but his parents insisted that he came and cooked for them and so on when they were out, which was most weekends and quite a lot of weekdays – Magnus had been slumped in an armchair with his chin on his fist waiting. Alec was scared that he had upset Magnus, but he also couldn't abandon his family. He just couldn't do it. It was ridiculous._

"_Magnus, I am sorry, I had to go to look after them…" _

"_Had to? Or wanted to?"_

"_What do you mean by that?!"_

"_I mean that I reckon that you just go all the time because despite everything that we have been through together you are still in love with Jace and are actually just popping over there to have a good time with him!" Alec laughed. It wasn't a happy laugh. It was a cold laugh._

"_Why are you obsessed with this idea that I am still in love with Jace?! I'm in love with _you _Magnus! You, and not anyone else!" Magnus ran his hands through his hair, clearly frustrated and confused and hurt._

"_Can you prove that you only love me?"_

"_How?! Tell me that Magnus, how?!" _

"_By not going to see your siblings every other day! They can find someone else, Alec!" _

"_You know that it doesn't work like that Magnus! And anyway, would oyu like to explain the rose perfume that this place always smells like when I have been out? I'm not stupid. I know that Caamille had been coming here a lot lately. The difference is, whilst I'm telling the truth about not having any other romantic feelings, I think you lie every time you say that you only love me. I think you're having an affair with that bitch." _

"_That's not true, Alec, we are just friends."_

"_Why should I believe that when you refuse to believe me?" He said it with a calm, logical certainty, a reasonableness that he only employed in these situations. "Look, please can we just try and make this work Magnus, for the boys? They only cam home today. Today. We can't let them live with parents that argue like us. This needs fixing, please Magnus!" Alec knew he was begging, but he couldn't bear to see these two children hurt. They meant everything to him, he could not let them go through that._

"_You're right Alec. They can't live with parents that argue like us. This does need fixing." The words should have reassured Alec, but they didn't. They just scared him more an more. There was a really ominous feeling in the room, a feeling of despair and hope and love lost. Alec absolutely hated it, he wanted it to just go back where it had come from and leave him alone._

_Magnus turned away from him, and the feeling only got worse. He watched as his boyfriend raked his hands through his sparkling hair again. His hands were shaking as he did so, Alec noted. Magnus never shook. Ever. Crap. This was serious. No. No, this could not be happening. It couldn't be. It couldn't. It couldn't. It couldn't. But it was._

"_I'm sorry Alec, but it's over."_

Alec's eyes snapped open and he gasped for air. His forehead was covered in a thin veil of sweat and his heart was hammering in his chest so hard that he felt like his ribs were breaking over it. It was just a dream. A memory, but it wasn't happening now. It was just a dream, a dream, which he needed to forget and move on from. It wasn't real. It was not real. But the tears were. They ran down his face in torrents, like a waterfall of emotions. It was too much with all the memories resurfacing on the anniversary and being in this place again. What a stupid time of year to come. But he was here now, and he was going to have to face it again, because he could not let this event rule his life. It was in power now, but it was time for a revolution. It was the moment for times to change. He was just going to have to get out of the fact that this had all been entirely his fault.

* * *

_He sat there looking at the joint on the table. He had been clean since he was what fifteen? The year he had first met Alec. Yeh. A year later they had been cannon. Now, he was a mess again, slipping back into all of the worst habits that the other boy had been able to iron out. He knew this was mostly his fault. He knew that he should have been more understanding of Alec and his family, he knew that it was very important to him, but he had been too jealous, and too hypocritical. He had just over thought everything, and instead of trying to work out how they could get over the problem like Alec had begged him to he had just sat back and acted all high and mighty, accusing Alec of things that he knew weren't true, and then denying when Alec had accused him of something that was. _

_At first, what he had said had been true – Camille had just been a friend to whom he could tell all of his issues, and with whom he could just relax. He had had her over when Alec was out to talk about his concerns about their relationship and Camille had just been understanding and reassuring. All the while Magnus should have let his mind tell him what he knew subconsciously was true, that Camille had been winding him around her little finger and hunting him like the snake she was. She had become more and more seductive as the time went on, pulling him closer, drawing him in so slowly and carefully that it was impossible to tell. Or maybe his mind had just glossed over it. Either way, he hadn't realised until he was right inside her trap, and there was no escape. The first time she had kissed him had been when he was a year into his relationship with Alec. The kiss had been like a drug, pulling Magnus into another addiction, but causing him serious damage as well. Camille had caught him good and proper, and a him and Alec had drifted further apart and then closer like the tide, he had been pulled out to sea until he was drowning, and Camille was the only source of air but all the while was dragging him further under. And now she was at his door again._

"_Come in, Camille." He sighed, exasperated. Right now he wanted a distraction, and she was the perfect candidate. He knew that it was wrong, that she had been one to mess things up for him, but he couldn't help himself. He was hooked on her._

"_Why hello Magnus. How splendid to see you." Her regal voice feigned caring, but underneath she was cold. Cold and manipulative. She could do devious and passionate. Those were the two emotions she actually felt. The rest was lies. Just lies._

"_And it is wonderful to see you too, Camille. Do sit down." Camille clacked over in her sharpened silver heels and perched herself on Magnus's lap._

"_May I sit here, Magnus?" She asked, although he doubted she needed his approval – she was going to sit there anyway._

"_Of course my dear." She lazily reached up and lifted Magnus's chin, brushing gently along his cheekbone in a soothing manner. Magnus knew that it was all an act, but he was able to find some comfort in the motion._

"_Are you alright Magnus? You look unhappy." Magnus reached up his hand and placed it over hers._

"_I just feel so guilty Camille." She smiled, showing pointed white teeth. Oh god. Here comes devious. Brace yourself, Magnus, his brain told him, but he refused to listen to it. He needed someone, anyone right now, and if Camille was willing to help him out, well, she would have to do._

"_Do you want me to help you feel less guilty?" Magnus didn't know what to say to that at all, but luckily someone else helped him out. A loud crying echoed through the apartment. His son had woken up, and obviously needed something. By the sounds of it, he was hungry – Magnus may have not known little Will very long, but he had learnt to recognise _that _call._

"_I'm sorry Camille, I'm gonna have to go sort out Will, I can't leave him hungry." He said, glancing over to the crib in the corner of the room._

"_Why? Can't he wait an hour or two?" Magnus sighed, trying to push her off of him. She wouldn't move, and looped her arms round the back of his neck in protest._

"_No, Camille, he can't, he is a seven day old baby!" He grabbed her hands and pinned them down on either side of her. "Now get off and let me see to him!" She looked furious, and stodd up quickly, drawing back her hands and rubbing at her wrists where he had grabbed them. They looked slightly red, but it would fade in a couple of minutes. Magnus would never hurt her properly. He could never do that to anyone._

"_Fine. You know what, fine. Care more about him than me. But it's basically your way of saying tjat you are always going to love Alec more than me and no matter how much I give to you, you'll still never love me the way that I love you. Don't expect me to call, Bane." _

_She stormed off out of the apartment, slamming the door behind her and muttering under her breath. For once, Magnus was glad to see her go. He got up and padded barefoot over to the crib, the joint now entirely forgotten. Maybe Will would be his was of getting through this. Maybe he would go back to drugs, and maybe he would get with Camille finally after all of this messing about, but William would be his rock, keeping him sane, keeping him on track. In return, Magnus would love the boy with all of his heart. He cradled his son to his chest, and he immediately stopped crying. Maybe that was what Will had need after all – not food, but his father. And Magnus was sure as hell going to be there for him for eternity and a day._

* * *

_**An extra long chapter for you! Hope you have enjoyed! Lu xxx**_


	7. Talking to Clary

_**I am back with an update for you. To Tibbiel – if anything goes on in the next few days, just know that the statement on the top of my profile still applies to you, okay? I'm just fed up. Xxx. Same to Emma. Xxx. **_

…

Three the next day found Alec slumped into the hard bench seat at Taki's again, waiting for Clary to arrive. He had dropped Max off at the Institute about half an hour previously – this was hopefully going to be a private chat. Alec's worst fear was that Clary would bring Jace along because he really didn't want to see his brother again, but… well, who knew. Alec had just decided to go with it, which wasn't working. He was nervous and jittery; waiting for half an hour could do that for you, especially for Alec. And naturally, Clary was late.

Alec looked out of the window, at the oranges and yellows on the trees and the faint trace of damp in the air, and took it all in. It was New York, home and memories and just everything. Alec honestly didn't know how he had been able to leave all of it, but then again, he didn't quite know how he had managed to survive here either. He was just glad to be back, to have the chance to start again in the city that he loved and just… live. Magnus all those years ago had taught him to live a little, and although he wasn't with the man anymore he still remembered some stuff. Well, a lot of stuff. The memories, especially the really old ones, had become faded with time, and when Alec recalled what they had done together when they were fifteen the images were happy rather than holding pain.

Suddenly the image was broken by a figure walking unhurriedly down the sidewalk in a beautiful emerald green summer dress that shimmered slightly in the sun and massive black combat boots. No normal person could pull it off but then again Clary was one of those epic people that could. Clutching firmly to her hand was a small girl, a waterfall of curling golden-blonde hair falling down her back almost to her waist. She looked so cute in her little denim shorts and white button-down vest top it was unbelievable. It was clear that she had Jace's charm and Clary's stubborn uniqueness and spark. It was also clear that she had inherited Clary's height – the girl was sturdy but tiny; she looked as fragile as a porcelain doll, breakable if you so much as touched her, yet as strong as titanium. She was precious. Alec knew that. She was his niece, Tessa. Wow.

Clary beamed as she walked into Taki's and waved a little at him as she walked over. Tessa was clinging onto her nervously, latched onto her side like a limpet, her hair waving around her as she tilted her head slightly forward and partially hiding her from view. She looked a little like Alec then, very subconscious and willing herself to be hidden from the world. But then any thought Alec had on the parallels between himself and the girls disappeared when the two of them shuffled a little clumsily – some things had obviously not changed – over to the booth and slid in opposite him. The little girl twirled a lock of hair around her finger and looked up slightly. She had dazzling green eyes, the colour of spring grass in Central Park. Just like Clary's. Just like Clary's, they would grow up to show every inch of her soul in a single second.

"Hey Alec. How are you?" Clary hugged him across the table. Alec hugged back. He didn't care if people were staring.

"I'm good, thanks. I see that you have brought someone else along." Alec smiled gently at Tessa, who shrank back. Alec didn't blame her. He probably looked terrifying. It was a miracle that Max wasn't scared stiff of him.

"Yeh, this is Tessa, my little girl." She turned to Tessa. "This is your Uncle Alec, Tessie." She shrank back a little further. Clary sighed. "Sorry, she's a little shy."

"No problem, I wouldn't let anyone but Maryse near me at that age."

"_Mom_ wouldn't let me near anyone, was terrified. I thought you should see her though, because_ I_ am not overprotective and… well, she _is_ your goddaughter." Alec felt his eyes go wide.

"By the Angel we are on the same wavelength!"

"I know right!" Clary giggled. "Jace was hesitant, he complained about you not being here, but I told him to stop being stuck up. You had every right to leave, but that didn't mean that I didn't hold you in my heart. I still do. Secretly I think that he does as well." Alec's respect for Clary rocketed instantly at that.

"I'm glad that someone feels that way," He said, his smile suddenly faltering, "I didn't exactly enjoy that attack from my dear brother and sister yesterday." Clary's smile faltered too. Tessa was leaning against her mom with her eyes flicked shut and her thumb stuck in her mouth. Alec strongly suspected that she was asleep.

"Yeah, Jace told me about that. I was absolutely furious with him, he had no right! He was in half a mind to come today but I was having none of it. I thought you needed time to recover." His respect with her was through the roof and probably in the upper atmosphere by now. He half nodded at her.

At that moment the waitress came to take everyone's orders. Alec looked up and noticed that it was a small girl who looked about sixteen with dyed blonde hair (the roots were horrific), a small white blouse and pencil skirt, blue slippers and an almost feral smile plastered on her face. She must have been new in Taki's because Alec didn't recognise her and she didn't recognise him. Instead vision skated over him to Clary, who gave her a quick smile. So they must have known each other, as least to some extent.

"Heya, can I take your orders?" She said, notebook poised at the ready. She was holding the pen almost like a dagger over it. It was a little unnerving.

"Yeh, can I have the usual please Dolly?" Clary asked with a smile, not even touching the menu. Dolly nodded and scribbled something down. Then she turned her attention to Alec.

"For you, Sir?"

"Oh, just a mocha please." Normally he wouldn't touch the stuff but he was in a sweet mood. The waitress – Dolly – nodded again as she took it down. She looked a bit like her head was on a spring.

"Anything for the little one?" She directed at Clary. Clary turned to Tessa, who appeared to have woken up.

"Want anything sweetie?" Tessa shook her head nervously. Clary rubbed her back slightly. It looked so natural and caring it was almost unbelievable – but not quite. Alec had always known that Clary would be a brilliant mother. She was looking back up at Dolly.

"She's fine thanks."

"Okay." Dolly sauntered off back to the counter with notebook in hand like she was strutting down a catwalk. She was an odd one for sure, but at least she wasn't Kaelie. That bitch was yet another one on the list of people that he needed to avoid, that he could do without in his life.

"So how had life been Alec? _Where_ have you been?" She didn't sound harsh or demanding. She just sounded curious. Alec could deal with that.

"It's been good. I've been in California for the past eight years, basically. Thought about coming back a few times, but I never felt ready, and then I got offered a job and… well, it was a big job, as you can tell by the apartment. So I had to come." Clary nodded. What was it with people nodding today?

"So, what did you do whilst you were there?"

"Well, I worked in an architects firm, helping out. I got quite high up, but what I really enjoyed was writing columns – I used to for all of the local newspapers. I applied for a job with Idris Times and they accepted me. I'm now their main columnist." He smiled a little at that. Well, it was his dream come true.

"That is awesome, Alec! I am so happy for you!" Clary smiled as him reassuringly.

"Thanks. How's life been for you?" Clary sighed.

"Eventful. Obviously there has been Jace and Tessa, but… well, I've lost Luke and Mom, and there has been a massive fight between Izzy and your parents, so we've had to deal with that, and… well, everything has fallen apart since you left. Without you Jace and Isabelle have had strained relationships with your parents, Magnus – we haven't heard from him at all, and… yeah. Sometimes it feels like you were the only thing holding us all together."

"What happened to Luke and your Mom… are they?"

"They aren't dead. They moved to Azerbaijan. One of Mom's weird things. Haven't heard from them since. That was what, five years ago? Something like that."

"Oh, I'm sorry Clary."

"Don't be." She waved him off. "I got over it. If they really cared about me they would have got in touch." She saw the look on Alec's face. "Oh, God, Alec, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that, I know you cared, I know it was different…"

"As long as you know that I still care deeply about you all." Clary took Alec's hand in hers.

"Of course I know that, Alec. You… well, you did just pack up and leave one night, but you had genuine reason too. Mom and Luke literally went with no word except a note which says 'we are off to Azerbaijan'." Alec nodded.

"It's okay."

At that point, Dolly came up and deposited their drinks. Alec took a sip, so did Clary and Tessa ate the little biscuits that came on the side slowly and methodically. Alec watched as she wiped a crumb from the little girl's mouth, remembered doing the same for Max all of those years ago. He was just growing out of that stage at the moment, getting to the point when it was embarrassing when his dad did that rather than normal. Clary noticed him smiling at her and laughed.

"What?" Alec shook himself out of his memories and thoughts.

"Nothing. I was just remembering things, that's all." Clary looked at him questioningly, and then it clicked.

"Oh, right, Max! Yeah, how did that happen?" Clary glared at him. "Come on, Alec." He gulped.

"Well, basically Magnus and I got totally pissed on my eighteenth in his gin stash, and we decided we wanted a kid. The next morning, we went and got a surrogate mother. Nine months later, Max and his brother arrived. Two days later, I was off with him. And now, exactly eight days later yesterday, we are back. That's it. Well, it's a lot more complicated than that, but it's the gist." Clary was gaping at him.

"Wait, he is Magnus's kid? And there were two?" Alec blushed.

"Yeah, and yeah." She gasped at him.

"Who is the other one? What is he called? Why did you leave when you had only just got them?" She seemed almost angry.

"Okay, for starters I tried to fix things between Magnus for the boys, but he insisted that the best thing was for us to be over, told me we were over and told me to leave. And I have no idea. We had just brought them home. I don't know if Magnus kept him, whether he gave him up for adoption, what. Hell, I don't even know his name. All I know is that I argued as much as I could to give them stability and two parents but Magnus refused to believe that we could fix things, refused to believe there was any other option. Maybe it was the best for them. But I can never know if it would have worked out any other way, and I can never know, because I can't change the past. I can regret why we broke up though." Clary had put a hand over her mouth.

"I seriously should keep my mouth shut, shouldn't I?" Alec laughed, eager to lighten the mood.

"Maybe you should. Can we just move off of the topic now, just have fun?" Clary smiled.

"Sure."

* * *

_**Okay, I know that it is short, but I think enough said for the moment.**_

_**Lu xxx**_


End file.
